What is a Service Dog:
By legal definition, a service dog is one specially trained to lessen the effect(s) of a disability. This includes — but is not limited to — disabilities such as: visual, hearing, mobility, seizure, and "invisible" disabilities that are debilitating, but not necessarily obvious to the public.
Service dogs are legally guaranteed access to all public places, transportation, and lodging. They cannot be denied access unless they are disruptive (ie. aggressive, destructive, or out of control) or will cause a fundamental change in how the business operates (ie. sterile operating room, etc.). Service dog access laws supersede public health codes in relation to restaurants, grocery stores, etc.
Guide dogs for the visually impaired have been around for decades, but it’s only in the last twenty years or so that service dogs have become widely used for other disabilities. Service dogs do a wide variety of tasks, including guide work, mobility and wheelchair assistance, seizure alert and hearing alert.
While the most common breeds used for service work are Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, many breeds have been used as SD’s from toy breeds all the way up to Newfoundlands and Mastiffs.
There are approximately 180 organizations that train service dogs for the disabled, many more private trainers who work independently and countless owners who have "self-trained" their dogs to perform specific tasks. There are pros and cons to all. With a large organization, there are waiting lists averaging from two to five years, but many are non-profit and do not charge for their dogs. The dogs have been thoroughly screened and trained, plus they usually offer follow-up assistance and help for the recipient. Private trainers can be expensive, but they can custom tailor a program for the specific needs of a person with disabilities. Unfortunately, many dogs wash out before they can become service dog material, and a person with disabilities might go through several dogs before finding one that is right for the work. Self-training is difficult, and also carries the same risk of washing out several dogs before finding the right one.
Remember, a service dog is not a pet. However, it has a far better, more rewarding and more enjoyable life than any pet dog could ever wish for. It’s with the person it loves all day long, it gets to go everywhere its owner goes, and because it’s a working dog, it usually gets more exercise and better food and medical care than most pet dogs do because a person with disabilities can’t afford for their assistant to be in ill-health. Plus, many of the breeds of dogs used for service work were originally bred to be working dogs, so they are doing what is in their blood.
